COVID-19 & Theme Park Closures

[Mc coaster]

1 hour ago, themagician said:

Universal Orlando could be soft opening June 1 and official reopen June 5. Awaiting for approval from government first 

This has been approved and confirmed by Universal so they will be opening during those dates. It has also been confirmed by the Orange County mayor that WDW will submit their opening plans sometimes next week.

Edited May 22, 2020 by Mc coaster

[Zac Beckwith]

Youtuber Airtime Thrills uploaded this video yesterday. It’s definitely worth a watch if you need to catch up on all the measures which will be in place for universal to open. 

 

[themagician]

Sea World Cruises will resume June 13

[themagician]

Taronga Zoo will reopen June 1 with reduced capacity 

Here is their video about the reopening and what will be put into place/changes

I think it’s a pretty well put together video and hopefully the GC parks create something similar upon their reopening 

Edited May 24, 2020 by themagician

[T-bone]

Rainbows End in NZ have reopened, and has laid their plans out in black and white. Check it out - https://rainbowsend.co.nz/health-safety?fbclid=IwAR1ItGa3YymOAuzagVLADO__TNxUMQEwla70XOylclgCsBvvosJBci1M8r4#Saferiding

[Rivals]

could this mean SeaWorld may be the first Gold Coast Theme Park to Reopen? 

[Brad2912]

2 minutes ago, Rivals said:

could this mean SeaWorld may be the first Gold Coast Theme Park to Reopen? 

Having a plan is one thing 

That plan being accepted by state medical officer and being approved to put into action is a whole different thing...

[Coasterlife]

if they do open would you guys say that it would be about 100 or 200 people allowed at sea world if they do?

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

5 minutes ago, Coasterlife said:

if they do open would you guys say that it would be about 100 or 200 people allowed at sea world if they do?

Clark and Bikash have said those numbers are not viable 

VRTP and QLD Government would need to work on attendance that can please both parties 

Me reckons as a prediction 1,000-2,000 people? 
 

It all comes down to the waiting game now to see what both parties settled on

Edited May 26, 2020 by Jay Jay The Jet Plane

[Coasterlife]

2 minutes ago, Jay Jay The Jet Plane said:

Clark and Bikash have said those numbers are not viable 

VRTP and QLD Government would need to work on attendance that can please both parties 

Me reckons as a prediction 1,000-2,000 people? 
 

It all comes down to the waiting game now to see what both parties settled on

thx for this information

[gavinfulikes]

Europa Park is reopening on the 29th of May including all 6 of its hotels. Masks will be required in all closed areas. Guests must social distance themselves at least 1.5m away from each other (there will be marks in place). Disinfection dispensers will be in place around the park and guests who has been in contact with somebody infected in the past 14 days or are showing symptoms will not be aloud in the park.

 

[RossL]

2 hours ago, Brad2912 said:

Having a plan is one thing 

That plan being accepted by state medical officer and being approved to put into action is a whole different thing...

Should happen pretty easily IMV if they have proposed reasonable modifications to their operations.

If they expect to operate as normal though then yeah they'll get put in the bin but surely they're not going to be that silly and out of line with community expectations?

[Brad2912]

Village Roadshow boss Clark Kirby met with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday to make the case for reopening.

VILLAGE boss Clark Kirby is aiming to have Sea World and Movie World at full capacity in time for the September school holidays if a soft opening the previous month goes to plan. 

Mr Kirby met with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk yesterday to make the case for reopening the theme parks, which have been closed since late-March.

It follows criticism from Mr Kirby last week over the State Government allowing shopping centres to take in thousands of customers, but limiting theme parks to 20 people from June and 100 from July.

“We went through all our COVID-safe plans with her and it got a really good reception,” he said. “There were certainly no promises (from the Premier), but I think she is keen to get the parks open as soon as possible too.”

Mr Kirby said Village submitted a detailed COVID-safe proposal to the State Government, involving families being able to go on rides together while spaced apart from other groups, ensuring social distancing was observed.

“We are just working through some of the practicalities like social distancing and sanitising,” he said.

Mr Kirby said he hoped to have ­Village parks undertake a soft opening in July for “very small numbers” and then gradually increase the number of customers to reach full capacity by the September school holidays.

He said he hoped “in ideal circumstances” to have Movie World and Sea World at half capacity by July – meaning 3000 patrons at Sea World and 7000 at Movie World.

Another option being considered is to reopen one park to test the COVID processes first before opening others.

Griffith University health and infectious disease expert Professor Nigel McMillian said it was up to each industry to make its best case for reopening to large numbers of customers.

“If you look at the NRL and racing and AFL et cetera, they are making their case around their unique circumstances,” Prof McMillian said.

“From an infectious disease point of view, what is the difference between a shopping centre and a theme park? Each one will have its unique, particular issues, (but) a ride (where people are) sitting next to each other – that does not happen in a shopping centre.”

https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/coronavirus-village-roadshow-ceo-clark-kirby-aiming-to-have-sea-world-and-movie-world-at-full-capacity-by-september-holidays/news-story/35389f0cff972d651eff59f6791ab8a0
—————————————————————————

my 2 cents...

there is no way in hell, mid-winter, that theme parks will be allowed capacities in the 3000+ mark. 

Can you even imagine 7000 social distancing in queues? The DCR queue would run the whole way down Main Street, likely intersecting with the queue for SE... 

[themagician]

They say those numbers, but I doubt they’ll reach them when it’s only locals visiting them.

I think opening SW first as a test (with its less number of rides), show everyone how they will implement everything and if that goes smoothly, then a month later open MW with reduced capacity, and gradually increase the limit as allowed. I can’t see them having full capacity by September, but definitely by December 

[Naazon]

With boarders closed and no internationals allowed to visit, its likely only pass holders that will go.

[Brad2912]

1 hour ago, Naazon said:

With boarders closed and no internationals allowed to visit, its likely only pass holders that will go.

Which raises the question is the effort worth it? With the Exception of membership holders who pay monthly, passholders have already paid up so the only revenue coming in will be from f&b spend and merch. 
 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

15 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

Which raises the question is the effort worth it?

Honestly they need to eat the cost, even if it isn't worth it. They need to hire-on some labour hire staff who are dedicated to cleaning and sanitising, especially the ride vehicles.

They need to eat the fact that they are not going to be profitable on day one. But, they need to open, even at a loss in the short term, in order to demonstrate that they can be open, that they are taking the appropriate precautions. A few media pieces on the news about the parks reopening showing all the cleaning and sanitising. Get Clark on talking about what they're doing to keep people safe. Give people confidence that they can return safely.

If their plan is to be back to normal capacity by September, they need to get the doors open now so that those who are looking for somewhere to holiday in the warmer months know its an option. Although we talk about people planning their next years holidays in advance, a lot of those plans are scuttled - all those who had planned to go overseas may look more locally and put off the overseas trip for another year - so if our domestic markets can reopen, put on a show and prove they can do it safely, it will pay off in the long term...

And it's self interest. If the buy out deal we saw recently is correct - they need to have the parks open prior to the share deal to make a premium on the share price - so even if they don't make a profit, reopening the parks is beneficial to shareholders and to village... but they have to do it right, or there is no point.

[khadro]

They should, once they get approval to reopen, and taking into account the fact that they won't be making a profit that first week or two anyway, make the first couple of openings a "Family and Friends" day, just to make sure they've ironed out any kinks, and can find any implementation issues.

Because there are always kinks.

Then hold a media day with journalists, and maybe local people of influence (bloggers, people from here and other sites like it), who can confirm that the plans are working. That gets them media coverage about doing the right thing without taking anything just on the word of people with vested interests of the park being open, meaning that more people will potentially be willing to come to the park.

Hell, make it an invitation to the Dreamworld management as well. It's not like their Covid plan will be a trade secret as everyone's will basically be variations on the same theme, and for this kind of thing the optics of the parks working together for the benefit of the public at large can only be a positive. If they can make it happen, invite management from all the popular parks. That might be harder due to travel constrictions, but it seems reasonable that this could count as necessary business.

But there is no way you'd do the media day first, because if something does go wrong, that will set them back weeks, or maybe even months in the view of the public.

This applies equally to whichever of the parks is going to be able to be the first one to open.

But who knows, maybe the different park management groups are already working together. A rising tide raises all boats, after all.

[Mc coaster]

It has been confirmed that WDW is submitting their opening plans tomorrow. 

[Brad2912]

The media will be there Day 1 regardless. Every person with a phone is “the media” these days. An hiccups, breaches in social distancing etc will be filmed and shared on social media immediately and picked up by wide-stream media.

there is no “practice” days. They have to get it right from Day 1.

[Park Addict 93]

My favourite news of the reopening Florida attractions has to be the "Social Distancing Skunk Ape". 

[themagician]

37 minutes ago, Brad2912 said:

The media will be there Day 1 regardless. Every person with a phone is “the media” these days. An hiccups, breaches in social distancing etc will be filmed and shared on social media immediately and picked up by wide-stream media.

there is no “practice” days. They have to get it right from Day 1.

Much like the days when every time a ride had an emergency stop (for whatever the reason may be) someone would take a photo and send it to the media.

Thankfully those days are long gone 

[westical]

9 hours ago, themagician said:

Thankfully those days are long gone 

Because the parks are closed?

[joz]

On 27/05/2020 at 12:46 AM, Brad2912 said:

He said he hoped “in ideal circumstances” to have Movie World and Sea World at half capacity by July – meaning 3000 patrons at Sea World and 7000 at Movie World.

Another option being considered is to reopen one park to test the COVID processes first before opening others.

 

Rant time:

 

Where did he pull those 'Half capacity' figures from? 7000 people at MW is hella busy. The idea that it's 'Half capacity' is bullshit. I wouldnt go to MW on a nornal day if attendance was 7000. I shudder to think what 7000 looks like when HSD or Roxy are running at half capacity, no character meet and greets, and no parade (this is based of Disney's plan) and more than likely no Arkham. Something as giving the cars of each ride a quick spray with disinfectant between cycles will blow out cycle times on everything across the whole park. And you want to have 7000 in that environment?

 

Just for perspective; Even something like a Fright Nights or a White Christmas where the park is RAMMED would run close to 7000. 14,000 is something you'd see MAYBE for one or two peak season days in January. Most days even in January would be well under 10,000. Having a cap of 7000 people at MW is basically saying the plan is to return to business as normal. It would be like the Titans saying they'll limit attendance at home games to half of capacity so 13500, even though that's more than the average number of people who go to their games most weeks, and then acting like its a sacrifice and you're being responsoble because the stadium technically can fit 27,000.

 

Similarly, the idea that SW's capacity is 6000 is also simply not true. Weirdly their capacity is way higher than that, so at least there 3000 is a tight cap, but what's the point? It's the roomiest park on the Gold Coast and a few choke points aside, one of the best for social distancing. Oh but they don't draw 5000 people on average so better to give 2000 of their cap to MW so their earlier statements that the parks need to be allowed 5000 a day still add up.

 

You want to know what 'We're taking our role in stopping the spread seriously and are putting in place a serious plan' looks like? Somewhere between 1 and 3 thousand people. Should still be easily profitable (particularly when you don't have to pay staff the first $1500 of their wages a fortnight, meaning the vast majority of staff are actually free or very close to it). You want to know what 'We want to be allowed to operate as normal' looks like? 7000 at MW and 3000 at SW a day.

 

Also someone poke them with a broom and remind them they own WnW.

[themagician]

Couldn’t agree more @joz. Those numbers are insanely high and why have those limits when they aren’t going to get those crowds day 1 anyways. I would imagine on a standard weekday they’d only get around 1000 people. So why not start off with that as a limit, to trial the ways social distancing have been implemented across the park. Then increase it every month.